Hello 2012! It's a new year . . . and here I am. I managed to get through the holidays without gaining weight and also released some emotional weight! Gotta love when that happens.

I'm most glad that I survived the month of December. I was SO busy. So busy I was hardly home and by the time my holiday came along, it took me 5 or 6 days just to come off the high and start to actually relax. I'm very thankful I have enough friends and family to keep me that busy . . . but it makes me realize that I really don't like being that occupied! While I thrive on human contact and people energize me, I still need my downtime and quiet.

January so far has been a month full of reflection and thankfulness. I'm reading a good book by John DeMartini called The Breakthrough Experience -- I talked before about another one of his books (called the Heart of Love) and so far the most profound concept I've taken from this book is to be thankful for the things that have happened in your life, because they brought you to this day. They have made you who you are, and you should be thankful for that! Unless you don't like who you are :)  But anyway, it's one of the first steps in the "process" and deals with realizing that everything in the universe is balanced. With every good experience there is something bad. With every negative experience there is something positive. It makes sense to me . . . but he does say that this is ALWAYS the case, even when you don't perceive it. He also believes that each experience happens for a reason, and that what we learn from it prepares us for the future.

Try as I might -- I try to control everything. Slowly, over time, I've managed to let go of that a bit, and find it easier to let life happen. Let situations unfold. Let people be who they are. Let me be who I am. Because I've learned that when you worry about other people and how they are/aren't this or that, it's usually because you don't want to be that way yourself. This is a big realization for me, and it comes from a lot of reflection and knowing what kind of person I want to be in this world. What kind of mother, daughter, partner, co-worker . . . even though I've been all those things for years, I can be my best self if I choose to.

Thus, for how strong, independent and organized I am . . . I realize those things have a negative side if they aren't perceived as I intend them. For how stubborn, opinionated and bossy I am . . . I realize those things have a positive side if I use them in the right way. I totally see how this concept applies! I'm just partway through the book and looking forward to reading the rest.

So goes the beginning of 2012! If the rest of the year is half as fulfilling as January has been, I'll be a lucky woman.